Obituaries

Sister Mary Evelyn Di Pietro, ASC, died Monday, July 23, 2018, in Columbia, Pennsylvania. She was 97 and had been a professed member of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ for 74 years.

Beatrice Evelyn Di Pietro was born, along with her twin brother, Philip, on July 4, 1921 in Belmont, Massachusetts. They were the third and fourth of 10 children of Italian immigrants Ciriaco and Evelina (Cancellieri) Di Pietro.

She came to know the Adorers through her aunt, Sister Maria Cancellieri, ASC, who entered the community in Rome before migrating to the U.S.

She was 66 years old and had been a professed Adorer of the Blood of Christ for 37 years.

Sister Janis was born Aug. 2, 1951 in Belleville, Illinois, the only daughter and youngest of four children of the late James and Paula (Platzkoester) Yaekel. Sister Janis made her first profession on June 1, 1980 and her final vows on Aug. 14, 1983.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in social studies from the former Notre Dame College in St.

Sister Mary Anthony Mathews, ASC, a longtime educator and missionary in China, died Tuesday, May 8, 2018 at the Ruma Center, Ruma, Illinois. She was 102 years old and had been a professed member of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ for 84 years.

Born on May 1, 1916, in Coulterville, Ill., she was the oldest of 12 children in the family of John and Teresa (Peters) Mathews. She made her first vows on July 2, 1933 and her final profession on July 1,

Sister Marciana Heimann, ASC, died Friday, April 20, 2018 at the Ruma Center in Ruma, Ill.

She was born on March 1, 1928, the second of four children in the family of Herman and Rosa (Richter) Heimann of New Baden, Ill. She was 90 years old and had been a professed member of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ for 71 years.

Sister Marciana, who had dual bachelor’s degrees from Saint Louis University in nursing and physical therapy, spent most of her ministry in health care. She headed the physical therapy department at St.

Sister Helen Ridder died Friday, Dec. 22, 2017. She was 82 years old and had been an Adorer of the Blood of Christ for 64 years.

She was born July 20, 1935 in Derby, Kansas, to John and Agnes (Abt) Ridder, the fifth of eight children.

Helen entered the Wichita ASC community on Jan. 1, 1952, and pronounced first vows on July 1, 1953, and permanent vows on July 1, 1958. She graduated from high school at Sacred Heart Academy in 1954. She earned a bachelor’s degree in education at Sacred Heart College in 1962 and graduated from Kansas State Teachers College,

Sister Teresita Kern, ASC, died Friday, Oct. 13, 2017 at the Ruma Center, Ruma, Ill. She was 93 and had been a professed member of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ for 76 years.

Sister Teresita was born on June 5, 1924 in Red Bud, Illinois, one of eight children of Christian and Helen (Kelly) Kern. She made her first profession on July 1, 1941 and her final vows on July 1, 1946.

She was a member of the Dietary Managers Association and was certified in food service supervision and sanitation.

Sister Margaret Mary Smith, who had celebrated 65 years as a vowed member of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ this spring, died Monday, October 9, 2017. She was 85.

Sister, baptized Emma Gelesta, was born in Hanover, Pennsylvania, the eighth of 11 children of Maurice and Evelyn (Adams) Smith.

In 1950, at the age of 18, she entered the Adorers of the Blood of Christ at St. Joseph Convent, the former Columbia Province Motherhouse. She entered the novitiate on Aug. 12, 1951, made first vows a year later, and final vows on Aug.

Sister Mary Renee Kirmer died quietly Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017. She was 81 and had been a professed Adorer of the Blood of Christ for 57 years.

She was born near Spearville, Kan., on Dec. 28, 1935, the sixth child of Frank and Albina (Penka) Kirmer, and baptized at St. John the Baptist Church.

Her family later moved to Dodge City, Kan., where she played softball, tennis and basketball. She was valedictorian of her 1953 Dodge City High School graduating class, and later worked there for five years as the principal’s secretary.

Sister Marie Ann Poland, ASC died after a long illness on Saturday, July 29, 2017 at the Adorers’ Ruma Center in Ruma, Ill.

She was 70 years old and had been a professed Adorer of the Blood of Christ for 17 years.

She was born March 16, 1947 in Philadelphia, the middle child of Catherine (Krach) and John Herman Poland. She entered the former Columbia Province of the Adorers on June 22, 1997, took first vows on June 10, 2000, and professed final vows on Nov. 6, 2004.

About Us

We are the Adorers of the Blood of Christ, a vowed religious community of Roman Catholic women who were founded in 1834 as a teaching order by the Italian, St. Maria De Mattias, in the small town of Acuto Italy. Worldwide, we are 2,000 women strong, including 200+ in the U.S.